Great news: Dementia is in decline

AMID the flurry of this week's big, bold promises to find a cure for Alzheimer's by 2025 a remarkable report on dementia went almost unnoticed.

Healthier lifestyles have dramatically lowered the number of dementia sufferers in the UK [GETTY]

However an alert BBC News Channel producer spotted the story and it resulted in a live interview on Wednesday night which left the duty anchor Martine Croxall struggling to conceal her surprise.

Because the news she had just been given on dementia was unreservedly good.

Her guest was Dr Eric Larson, executive director of the respected Health Research Institute in Seattle, spoke with calm, fact--based optimism.

His team has put together disparate studies on the incidence of dementia in populations all over the world and it points unmistakeably to one thing: dementia is on the decline.

No, really, it is. Rates have begun to fall. The inescapable fact has emerged that the later you were born in the 20th century, the less chance you have of succumbing to it.

In what might seem like a contradiction in terms, Dr Larson said: "Of course people are living longer so there are many new cases of dementia."

But crucially not as many as researchers expected. To their surprise they found that people have started to live longer before showing signs of the illness.

People are exercising more, taking care of their cholesterol and blood pressure, keeping the weight off, smoking less - and it all adds up to saving the brain

Dr Eric Larson

And studies in London, Rotterdam and US cities show an unmistakable decline of the disease in at--risk groups.

So what's going on?

It's down to our old friend, healthy lifestyle. There is a direct and proven link between cardio- vascular health and dementia.

The better the heart and circulation the less risk of developing it. "People are exercising more, taking care of their cholesterol and blood pressure, keeping the weight off, smoking less - and it all adds up to saving the brain," Dr Larson explained.

"The most promising areas of research into beating dementia is undoubtedly the effort to lower vascular risk."

He said the studies were on large population groups, so this isn't just theoretical laboratory stuff.